Latest news with #CompetitionAndMarketsAuthority
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Drivers still being fleeced at the pumps by fuel retailers pocketing big margins, watchdog says
Drivers continue to be ripped off by fuel retailers pocketing high margins on petrol and diesel despite lower prices at the pump, the competition watchdog said today. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as part of its ongoing investigation into the sector said retailers' margins – the difference between what they pay for fuel and what they sell it at – remained high compared to historic levels. Fuel prices across the UK fell for both petrol and diesel over the three months to the end of May by 7.6p a litre and 8.4p respectively. But the CMA found that fuel margins were similar to the high levels seen during its road fuel market study – a review of the market to understand the factors influencing fuel prices undertaken in 2023 – which suggested overall competition in the UK's road fuel retail market remained 'weak'. The RAC responded to the CMA's latest update on Monday, saying it is 'disappointed to see drivers had paid over the odds at the pumps yet again'. Edmund Kind, president of the AA, said it is not only bad news for drivers and businesses but exposes the 'siphoning off of potential consumer spending for the likes of tourism and others'. Supermarket fuel margins fell from 8.9 per cent in December 2024 to 7.9 per cent in February 2025, before rising to 8.3 per cent in March 2025, the regulator found. Non-supermarket fuel margins fell from 9.9 per cent in December 2024 to 8.9 per cent in January 2025, before rising to 10.4 per cent in March 2025. The CMA also looked at the retail spread – the average price that drivers pay at the pump compared to the benchmarked price that retailers buy fuel at – across the UK from March 2025 to May 2025. It found that petrol retail spreads averaged 15.4p per litre, which was 1.5p higher than the previous four-month period – and still more than double the average of 6.5p over 2015 to 2019. Diesel retail spreads averaged 18.8 ppl, which was 4.6p a litre higher than the previous four-month period and more than double the average of 8.6p in 2015 to 2019. Dan Turnbull, senior director of markets at the CMA, said: 'While there is uncertainty over how global events will impact the price of oil, our report shows fuel margins remain high compared to historic levels despite lower prices at the pump in recent months. 'The Government committed to launching a 'Fuel Finder' scheme following our recommendation to help drivers compare real-time prices and boost competition. 'Once launched, it will make it easier than ever to shop around and find the best deals.' RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: 'Given fuel is a major expense for households, and with eight in 10 drivers dependent on their cars, it's disappointing to see they've paid over the odds yet again. 'We have to hope the launch of the Government-backed Fuel Finder scheme, due at the end of the year, will stimulate competition and finally lead to fairer pump prices.' AA president Edmund King added: 'Once again, the CMA has exposed boosted margins and profits from petrol and diesel. 'Road fuel is a critical part of a consumer and family budgets. Increased fuel costs have a major influence on inflation. 'While the hope is that pump price reporting, which becomes mandatory at the start of the next year, might bring about more competition, what is happening now is not only bad news for drivers and businesses but also siphoning off potential consumer spending for the likes of tourism and others.' Mr King added: 'The clear and present danger now is the cost of petrol and diesel along holiday routes. 'Some of the prices are outrageous and we can only hope that drivers take maximum advantage of the price transparency provided by the CMA's voluntary reporting scheme to locate the competitive forecourts.'
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Fuel margins remain high despite lower prices at the pump, watchdog finds
Drivers are still being hit with high fuel margins despite lower prices at the pump, the competition watchdog has said. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said retailers' margins – the difference between what they pay for fuel and what they sell it at – remained high compared to historic levels. Fuel prices across the UK fell for both petrol and diesel over the three months to the end of May by 7.6 pence per litre (ppl) and 8.4 ppl respectively. But the CMA found that fuel margins were similar to the high levels seen during its road fuel market study – a review of the market to understand the factors influencing fuel prices undertaken in 2023 – which suggested overall competition in the UK's road fuel retail market remained 'weak'. Supermarket fuel margins fell from 8.9% in December 2024 to 7.9% in February 2025, before rising to 8.3% in March 2025, the regulator found. Non-supermarket fuel margins fell from 9.9% in December 2024 to 8.9% in January 2025, before rising to 10.4% in March 2025. The CMA also looked at the retail spread – the average price that drivers pay at the pump compared to the benchmarked price that retailers buy fuel at – across the UK from March 2025 to May 2025. It found that petrol retail spreads averaged 15.4 ppl, which was 1.5 ppl higher than the previous four-month period – and still more than double the average of 6.5 ppl over 2015 to 2019. Diesel retail spreads averaged 18.8 ppl, which was 4.6 ppl higher than the previous four-month period and more than double the average of 8.6 ppl in 2015 to 2019. Dan Turnbull, senior director of markets at the CMA, said: 'While there is uncertainty over how global events will impact the price of oil, our report shows fuel margins remain high compared to historic levels despite lower prices at the pump in recent months. 'The Government committed to launching a 'fuel finder' scheme following our recommendation to help drivers compare real-time prices and boost competition. 'Once launched, it will make it easier than ever to shop around and find the best deals.' RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: 'Given fuel is a major expense for households, and with eight in 10 drivers dependent on their cars, it's disappointing to see they've paid over the odds yet again. 'We have to hope the launch of the Government-backed Fuel Finder scheme, due at the end of the year, will stimulate competition and finally lead to fairer pump prices.' AA president Edmund King said: 'Once again, the CMA has exposed boosted margins and profits from petrol and diesel. Road fuel is a critical part of a consumer and family budgets. Increased fuel costs have a major influence on inflation. 'While the hope is that pump price reporting, which becomes mandatory at the start of the next year, might bring about more competition, what is happening now is not only bad news for drivers and businesses but also siphoning off potential consumer spending for the likes of tourism and others.' Mr King added: 'The clear and present danger now is the cost of petrol and diesel along holiday routes. Some of the prices are outrageous and we can only hope that drivers take maximum advantage of the price transparency provided by the CMA's voluntary reporting scheme to locate the competitive forecourts.'
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
UK competition watchdog begins initial probe into Boeing-Spirit Aero deal
(Reuters) -Britain's competition regulator said on Monday it has begun a Phase 1 investigation into planemaker Boeing's deal to acquire Spirit Aerosystems and set a deadline of August 28 for a decision. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had said last week that it was weighing a probe into whether the deal could affect competition in the country or in other markets. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Airbus Stock Popped Thursday
The UK Competition and Markets Authority may look into Boeing's planned acquisition of Spirit Aerosystems. Spirit supplies plane parts to both Boeing and its rival Airbus. If Boeing buys Spirit, Airbus could end up buying plane parts from a competitor. 10 stocks we like better than Airbus SE › Airbus (OTC: EADSY) stock rose strongly on Thursday to close the day up 3.7%, on some disturbing news for a competitor. Over in England, the British Competition and Markets Authority is reportedly looking into Boeing's plan to (re-)acquire Spirit AeroSystems... with an eye to forbidding it. Once upon a time, Spirit was part of Boeing. But in 2005, Boeing spun off Spirit in a move designed to boost profits. That didn't work out as planned, however, so roughly one year ago, Boeing announced it would buy back its former fuselage manufacturing subsidiary for $4.7 billion. Spirit, however, has in the meantime become a supplier to both Boeing and Airbus. If reintegrated into Boeing, this would necessarily affect Airbus, and perhaps negatively so, by requiring Airbus to effectively subsidize a rival anytime it buys plane parts from Spirit. So while the Competition and Markets Authority hasn't started an official investigation yet, nor made 100% clear what it would look into if it does, that's probably part of its concern. For now, all the Authority is doing is inviting comments from "interested parties" on whether it should or shouldn't open a formal review. The deadline for submitting such comments is July 15. Meantime of course, Boeing has sunk time and money (and attorney's fees) into preparing for an acquisition that might not be allowed to proceed. It will presumably suffer even further distraction (and fees) if forced to fight a U.K. enforcement action forbidding or putting conditions on its purchase of Spirit. And all of these things will weaken its position relative to Airbus. Meanwhile, Airbus stock is profitable, and Boeing still isn't. Advantage: Airbus. Before you buy stock in Airbus SE, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Airbus SE wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $687,731!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $945,846!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 818% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 175% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Airbus Stock Popped Thursday was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
UK competition watchdog weighs probe into Boeing-Spirit Aero deal
June 26 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator is considering whether Boeing's (BA.N), opens new tab deal to acquire its former subsidiary Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N), opens new tab could affect competition in the country or in other markets, it said on Thursday. The Competition and Markets Authority has not yet launched a formal investigation, but has invited comments from interested parties by July 15 to help inform a decision. Boeing and Spirit did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Boeing spun off Spirit's core Wichita and Oklahoma plants in 2005, but in 2024 it agreed to buy back Spirit AeroSystems for $4.7 billion in stock to streamline its operations and improve quality control, ending nearly two decades of independence of the world's largest standalone aerostructures company. European rival Airbus ( opens new tab had also finalized a deal in April to acquire several Spirit AeroSystems facilities tied to its aircraft programs.
